Veterans’ bodies ‘lay undiscovered for days at flats run by charity’
A MILITARY charity is being investigated over claims that the bodies of two veterans lay undiscovered for days at their supported-housing flats.
Families of the two men, who died at Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions in Fulham, west London, this year, claim they were unable to see their relative after death because decomposition was too far advanced. The Charity Commission is now considering the case.
Relations of Paul Row, 52, who died in February from a heart attack, and John Hiscott, 32, who died in May, say they were angry at the way the Stoll Foundation reacted to their concerns.
Jane Row, Mr Row’s sister, said that when he was found: “His flat was freezing cold, he had the window open, he’d already started to decompose.”
Mr Row, who completed tours in Canada, Cyprus and Northern Ireland with the 1st Royal Anglian Regiment, had suffered from PTSD following medical discharge due to a knee injury.
Mr Hiscott was a week away from completing his second phase of training to join the Blues and Royals regiment when he was injured following a suicide attempt in 2002.
Judy Hiscott, Mr Hiscott’s mother, said it was four hours after their third call to the charity that his body was found. “The conversation literally was ‘we’ve broken into the flat, your son’s dead, the police will be visiting’.”
The commission has raised a compliance case, the preliminary stage before a formal investigation. A spokesman said: “As we highlighted in a recent report, charities set up to help veterans, who can be vulnerable members of our society, must make their care and protection an absolute priority.
“They should have in place robust safeguarding policies and ensure they are followed in practice. We will be contacting the trustees of the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation to seek more information on concerns that have been raised with us regarding the running of the charity to determine whether we need to take any regulatory action.”
Ed Tytherleigh, chief executive at Stoll, said suggestions that the men lay for days following their death were “false, and are not supported by the evidence”. He said: “I have reviewed the actions our staff took and I am satisfied that at all times we acted appropriately. People live independently at Stoll and have their own keys, and their own front door. We support vulnerable veterans enabling them to live independently, access training and find work. We are not a formal care facility.”